Transition toolkit

Co-Design

In co-designing with a clinician, and in recognising that any tool or workshop would need to be delivered by a professional, the focus shifted from a patient focus to supporting the clinician. The design focuses on providing a framework which is customisable to fit clinicians own practice and individual hospital protocols. It aims to help support clinicians to provide to their patients access to a new art medium in a way that encourages them to start discharge planning earlier in their care and supports more effective and involved discharge planning.

The first workshop

Using stickers, patients are asked to select characters which represent goals for their own transition out of care and are then transformed into figurines post workshop. These figurines are printed in the interim between workshops, and act as keepsakes representing each person’s goals and as a reminder to problem solve with compassion. These figurines act as incentive to come to the second workshop and are a fun introduction to a new art form or hobby.

Card ‘Game’

A key element of this system is the creation of a set of cards for a card game. These cards involve creating ‘tools’ for one’s toolkit using exercises and activities from one’s discharge planning or other group therapy sessions, and are later applied to scenarios one may face outside of care in a card ‘game’. This is designed to both encourage more playful and involved interaction with groups and discharge planning, while also encouraging patients to think about life outside of care so that discharge planning can be better informed.

The second workshop

Workshop number two involves playing a card game using 2 types of cards. ‘Tool’ cards are a combination of pre-printed cards outlining suggested coping strategies and tools and cards created in the interim between workshops by the patients themselves. These cards become one’s toolkit. Scenario cards prompt participants to think more abstractly about how one may apply new strategies they have learned. The use of the printed figurine in this workshop helps externalise very difficult, triggering issues associated with facing leaving care, allowing them to ease into discharge planning more easily.

Continually growing and collaborative

This intervention being open source means that as the tool is used, other creators or clinicians can contribute feedback/supporting materials/suggestions etc. The design isn’t final but a starting point. I am preparing this for testing in a hospital setting early next year. After which I will further refine and update the toolkit. All info, resources and guidelines are online on the site linked above.

Learn more Via the Transition Toolkit website: https://sites.google.com/view/transitiontoolkit/transition-toolkit